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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. content — the amount
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. last — to go on
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. last — finally
  23. cell — in biology
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com